Shavuot Decorations: Flowers and Vines

There is a legend that teaches that the Israelites found Mount Sinai blooming and lush with greenery and flowers. As a result, many people decorate their homes with garlands and baskets of flowers for Shavuot. Try your hand at making some Shavuot decorations, as well as other activities.

Paper Plate Flowers

What You’ll Need

  • A paper plate
  • Colorful construction paper
  • Scissors
  • Glue (or a stapler)

What You’ll Do

  • Trace a child's hand on colorful construction paper at least 10 times.
  • Cut out the hand tracings.
  • Glue or staple a circle of handprint tracings (fingers pointing outward) around the outside of the plate–the fingers are the flower's petals.
  • Glue or staple a second circle of handprint tracings (fingers pointing outward) just inside the first circle.
  • Glue or staple a third circle of handprint tracings at the center of the plate.

Handprint Paper Flowers Bouquet

What You’ll Need

  • Construction paper
  • Pencil
  • Scissors
  • Green pipe cleaners (or straws)
  • Tape or glue
  • Stapler

What You’ll Do

  • Trace a child's hand on construction paper.
  • Cut the tracing out.
  • Curl each of the fingers around a pencil.
  • Using the palm of the handprint, form a cone (with the fingers curling outwards).
  • Glue or tape the cone together.
  • Staple the flower to a pipe cleaner or a drinking straw.
  • Draw some leaves on green construction paper and cut them out.
  • Staple or tape the leaves to the straw.
  • Make a few of these flowers for a beautiful bouquet.

Flower Garland or Wreath

What You’ll Need

  • Thick paper, cardstock or thick construction paper
  • Drinking straws (two straws for each garland)
  • Yarn (about two feet of yarn for each garland)
  • Scissors
  • Optional:  paint, markers, glitter

What You’ll Do

  • Draw and cut out a lot of flower shapes from thick paper.
  • Poke a tiny hole in the center of each flower.
  • Decorate the flowers with paint, markers and/or glitter.
  • Cut a drinking straw into approximately 1½” segments. 
  • Cut a piece of yarn about two feet long.
  • Tie a thick knot at one end of the yarn.
  • Thread the yarn through the hole in the center of the first flower and push it down to the knot.
  • Thread the yarn through a segment of drinking straw and push it down to the flower.
  • Continue threading—alternating flowers and straw segments.
  • When the last flower has been threaded onto the yarn, tie the ends of the yarn together to make a necklace or leave it long, knotting both ends to make a garland.